Cast Your Vote: Wired’s 2007 Vaporware Awards

Every year, Wired News applauds the finest examples of hype, empty promises and smoke-and-mirrors PR the technology industry has to offer.

We’ve always let you, the readers, pick the winners for our annual Vaporware Awards, and nominations for this year’s list are still pouring in. As expected, Duke Nukem Forever (shown above) is topping the charts yet again, and we’ve got some familiar faces from years past like the Optimus Maximus Keyboard and the aptly-named Phantom gaming console. But we’ve also seen a strong showing from some last-minute newcomers like the Tesla Roadsterand Windows Mobile 6 for the BlackJack.

So now it’s time to push your favorite over the top! You can only cast one vote (up or down) for each item on the list. But even if you’ve already voted, take a second look to see if there’s a new candidate filled with enough hot air to dethrone King Duke.

Got something to nominate? Go ahead and add it to the list. Read our quick refresher on the rules below.

Only officially announced products with anticipated 2007 release dates are fair game.

No rumors! The Google Phone, iTablet and hybrid Volkswagen Beetle all sound exciting. But they are only figments of the blogosphere’s collective imagination, not true vaporware.

Leave a comment. Got something to say about the Optimus Maximus? Want to rant about the Neo1973? Sound off at the bottom of the post.

The best comment will win a special prize!

As in previous years, software in the pre-release, beta-testing stage is considered vaporware, even if it’s widely available. It hasn’t shipped until it’s shrink-wrapped.

Likewise hardware. Prototypes may exist in some company’s skunk labs, or maybe a "developer only" version is making the rounds. But it’s vaporware until the rank and file get their hands on it.

There are some items we’ve been waiting on for years. If it was supposed to be here in 2005 and the company is still promising it will arrive "any day now," it qualifies as vaporware.

If it shipped — even if it stank — it’s not vaporware.

We reserve the right to remove items from the list that don’t meet the above criteria.